Chapter Text
I sling my heavy bag over my shoulder with ease. My mom gives me a teary smile.
“Don’t forget about me and your dad while you’re out here growing up.”
I smile back. “I’ll call. I promise.”
“You better. And be safe, Spiderman. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, okay, sweetheart?”
“Ah, don’t worry. I got this.”
She sighs. “Take care. I love you, Oscar.”
“Love you, mom.” I smile and shut the car door, walking onto Campus.
Well, I’m officially a college student now. I walk across Campus, grabbing my welcome package and heading into the dorm building. I find my room – the door is already open and I hear voices from inside. A girl with blue hair is unpacking with what seems to be her mom. I knock on the doorframe and walk inside.
“Hi.”
They turn to face me. “Oh, hey,” the girl says. “You my roommate?”
“Yeah, I’m Oscar.”
She gives me a once-over. “Meg. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” I smile politely.
She turns back to unpacking, but her mother looks at me a bit longer, smiling. “Have I seen you before somewhere, dear?”
“Uh, not sure,” I respond, putting down my bags on the other side of the room.
“Your face is very familiar.”
“I get that a lot.”
Meg shoots me a knowing look, but her mom seems to move on. I start to unpack my stuff. Some boxes were already brought in by movers earlier, so I have more to unpack than what I carried inside.
After 30 minutes, Meg’s mother leaves, hugging her daughter goodbye. Once the door shuts, Meg turns to me.
“You’re Spiderman.” It’s not a question; she’s not looking for confirmation.
“M-hm.”
“That’s tight. Can I see the suit?”
I pull the suit out of my bag and hand it to her. She holds it and looks at it closely. “Sick. Stitching could use some work, though.”
I raise my eyebrows and chuckle. “You sew?”
“Yeah, I do cosplays. Let me know if you want me to fix up some stuff.”
“Oh, really? That’d be cool, thanks.”
I smile, taking a closer look at her now that we’re face to face. She’s almost as tall as me. She has dark skin, long blue braids, a ton of piercings on her face and ears. On her jean jacket, I spot a pin with the lesbian flag. She hands me the suit back.
“You queer too?” She asks, going back to her unpacking.
I watch her for a moment. “Is it that obvious?”
She laughs. “To me, yeah. But it’s good. I think we’ll vibe. Got a boyfriend?” She looks over.
My face lights up. “Uh, yeah, I do. His name is Lando.”
She grins. “Wow, look at you, all smiley and in love. Cute.”
“Shut up.” I chuckle, blushing. “Yeah, well, he’s great. Makes me very happy.”
We talk more as we unpack and decorate our spaces. I think we’ll get along well – she’s funny and nice. The lessons start, and I get a lot of stares every time I walk across campus. But people rarely come up to me to actually talk to me about being Spiderman, so I can still focus on the classes. It’s all very interesting and exciting.
Engineering math is quite hard, but I think I can keep up with it. The teacher, Mr. Kerrington, is a quite attractive man in his early forties. I take a lot of notes, trying to make sense of everything as it’s happening. I notice his look on me every now and then. I’m pretty sure all the teachers have realized who I am at this point, but no one has pulled attention to it yet. As I’m packing up after class, he approaches me.
“Piastri. Got a moment?”
I turn to him. “Of course, professor.”
He smiles condescendingly. “I didn’t know we had a celebrity attending this year.”
I awkwardly shift from one foot to the other. “I’m not here as Spiderman.”
“Good. I hope you’re not expecting any special treatment.”
“No, sir. Of course not.”
He nods, giving me a once-over. “That’s good to hear. That’s all. Have a good day.”
I head to the next class. Kerrington does not seem to like me very much, for whatever reason. But I don’t have time to worry about that. I head straight to the next lesson – advanced engineering with Dr. Miranda Nicks. She’s one of the best in the game, and I’m super excited to learn from her. She explains things eloquently, breaking it down enough for the class to understand it. I get a question right that she asked the class, and she gives me a smile and a nod. After class, she walks past me in the corridor.
“Nice work today, Piastri.”
“Oh, thank you,” I answer with a smile, feeling kind of proud.
She smiles. “I appreciate it when students speak up, and your inputs have been valuable. Keep it up.” She pats my shoulder and keeps walking, and I try to hold back an excited smile.
So, I think college isn’t too bad so far. I’ve made a few friends, most of them queer. Of course, there’s Meg, my roommate. Then there’s Alex and his roommate George – Meg and I have decided it’s a matter of time before they start dating. They’re always finding excuses to touch each other, always attached at the hip, and when one isn’t looking, the other will give him the most intense heart eyes – it’s almost infuriating from an outside perspective. And then there’s Nora, who’s quite shy. She’s looking at me a lot, always looking away when I catch her doing it. She’s very smart, but just not as outgoing as the rest of the group – but she’s super kind. And finally, Nora’s roommate Casey, a very bubbly girl who’s always looking for activities for us to do together and forcing us to leave our dorms when we just wanna stay in. It’s a fun group with a nice dynamic, and I feel very grateful to have found my circle. High school wasn’t always easy, and this is definitely way more comfortable.
I do miss Lando, though. We text and call, of course. But it’s not the same as getting to see and touch him in real life. I’ll go see him soon. I can’t wait to see his face light up again…